War and Peace · Character
Praskóvya Sávishna
Also known as Nurse Sávishna, Sávishna
- Minor
- First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 75
Praskóvya Sávishna has the warm, familiar stillness of someone who belongs to the rhythms of a household: shawl drawn over her head, knitting resting in her hands. Her lined face and stray wisp of gray hair make her seem both tender and quietly enduring.
- Gender
- female
- Age
- elderly
- First appears
- Book 1 · Ch. 75
- Books
- 1
Praskóvya Sávishna appears as an old nurse, present in the intimate domestic world of the Rostovs. Tolstoy sketches her through the shawl around her head, her knitting, and the unmistakable signs of age in her face. She is a modest, caring presence rather than a character with a major independent arc, and is later only briefly named.
Description
Praskóvya Sávishna is an elderly woman with a wrinkled face and loose skin hanging beneath her chin. A lock of gray hair slips from under the kerchief she wears, and a shawl is wrapped around her head. She is seen with knitting in her hand, lending her a patient, homely air. The text gives no further detail about her height, build, eye color, or clothing.
Connections
Family & partnersFriends & mentorsRivals
Princess Mary Bolkónskayanurse and former charge
Mary's old nurse comforts her through the night of Lise's labor, bringing the prince's wedding candles and keeping her company.
Story so far
BOOK 1War and Peace
Appearances
Meet Praskóvya Sávishna in Bookworm
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